Texas School Districts Consider Tax Increases to Fill State Cuts To Education

The New York Times has an interesting article titled School Districts Look at Increase in Tax Rates out today (6/12/11), which discusses tax options faced by Texas school districts in the wake of state funding cuts to education.

In the recent legislative session, Texas cut $4 billion from the education budget.  According to the article,

The local part of public education financing in Texas comes from property taxes: maintenance-and-operations rates set by school boards and, if applicable, a facilities bond interest rate.  In 2006, as part of an overhaul of the state’s school finance system, the Legislature voted to reduce property tax rates by a third, setting the majority of districts’ maintenance-and-operations rates at $1 per $100 of property value, with a cap of $1.17. Any district that wants to levy a tax rate higher than $1.04 must hold a “tax ratification election.” About 20 percent of districts have already reached the $1.17 limit...

While Arizona is "an equalized funding state", school districts still vote individually for maintenance and operation overrides, capital overrides and bonds.  It is interesting to see how other states handle these issues when Arizonans are discussing the funding of our public education system.  Issues such as local commitment to education funding and equal funding statewide are topics of discussion in the wake of substantial cuts to education in the two most recent sessions of the Arizona Legislature.

To read the rest of the New York Times article, click here.

Children's Action Alliance Needs Your Help!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Children’s Action Alliance, an Arizona non-partisan and non-profit child advocacy group, needs your help in the West Valley to let people know how their legislators voted on bills affecting their children, families and local community.

Please join us on Saturday, May 14, 2011, 9:00 a.m. to noon at Falcon Park at 5050 West Indian School Road in Goodyear (east of the Loop 303).

Volunteers will distribute voter education materials door-to-door in nearby neighborhoods.

No experience necessary- just join in the fun!

Volunteers are welcome to participate in an optional training session on Wednesday, May 11, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at UFCW Local 99, 2401 North Central Avenue in Phoenix.

Contact Amy Kobeta at (602) 266-0707 x202

or akobeta@azchildren.org to RSVP or with questions.

http://www.azchildren.org/

AEN Joins Panel Discussion on Education Cuts on Arizona PBS 8 Horizons with Ted Simons

Arizona Horizon's host Ted Simons discusses the impact of budget cuts and other legislation on public education with Senator Rich Crandall, Chair of the Senate Education Committee; Ann-Eve Pedersen, president of the Arizona Education Network; and Chuck Essigs of the Arizona Association of School Business Officials.

How did YOUR legislator vote? Find the 2011 Legislative Session: Education Funding Voting Record by Legislator here.

Join the Campaign for Education 2012 here.

Phoenix Channel 12 News Asks: Where Did the New Sales Tax Money Go?

Phoenix Channel 12 News's Lunch Cast segment AZ FactCheck set out to answer a question many Arizona voters are asking: "Did the new sales tax that voters approved last spring really help education?"

Watch here:

Special Talk by George Lakoff Monday, April 25 at 5 p.m.

The Department of Linguistics and the Cognitive Science Program in collaboration with the units listed below

Announce a Special Presentation by

George Lakoff

Richard and Rhoda Goldman Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics

University of California, Berkeley

Monday, April 25, 2011

5:00 p.m.

The University of Arizona Main Campus

Harvill Building, Room 150

1103 E 2 St

Tucson, AZ 85721

How Progressives and Conservatives Think Differently:

Understanding the Current Political Conflict in America with Suggestions for a Saner Politics

Progressives and conservatives have very different moral worldviews, conflicting ideas of what is right and wrong — worldviews that cover many areas of life and go well beyond particular issues like guns and immigration. For reasons that are far from obvious, these differences are dominating our political life and surface in violent forms of language, and unfortunately, violent actions.

It is vital that we understand the principles (and there ARE principles) governing these worldviews and hence our political life. The issues in Arizona arise from the same source as the issues in Wisconsin, Ohio, and California, and the current debates in Congress. It is also vital to understand the role that language and communication play in our politics via the framing of issues.

An important phenomenon rarely discussed is “duality,” where people have both worldviews applying to different issues: they are conservative in some ways and progressive in others. Understanding how duality works in the brain is crucial to the development of a saner politics at all levels.

Support for this presentation has been provided by the following:

Office of the Vice President for Research, University of Arizona's Confluence: A Center for Creative Inquiry, College of Education, College of Science, School of Information Sciences, Technology and Arts, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Anthropology, Department of Philosophy, College of Humanities, Department of Psychology, Department of History, Center for the Philosophy of Freedom, Department of Communication, Second Language Acquisition and Teaching, School of Government and Public Policy, Department of English, Department of Sociology



Budget Cuts to K-12 Education Discussed on AZ PBS's Horizonte

Horizonte host José Cárdenas discusses impact of budget cuts to public K-12 education on schools and students with Panfilo Contreras, executive director for the Arizona School Boards Association; Chuck Essigs, director of Governmental Relations for the Arizona Association of School Business Officials; and Ann-Eve Pedersen from the Arizona Education Network.

Teacher Day at the University of Arizona Saturday, April 30!

"In honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week, Tucson Values Teachers is proud to partner with the University of Arizona and Champions for Change to present Teacher Day at UA."

Saturday, April 30, from 10 AM - 4 PM

No pre-registration is required. Just come out - free for teachers and 3 family members!

Simply sign in at Flandrau and receive an identifying button, a free tote bag and a program and UA Resource Guide. Then go forth to enjoy free admissions and lots of information and goodies.

* Nearly 50 different UA programs will be sharing information and material for area classrooms at the Business/Education Expo at the College of Education

* Discounts at several Main Gate Restaurants

* Goodies from OfficeMax and Walgreens

* Free Admission and special programs at Arizona State Museum, Flandrau, the Poetry Center, the Museum of Art and lots more!!! 

The Tucson community is invited to show up and say thank you to all of our great teachers and their families!

For a schedule of events, click here.

For more information, email Tucson Values Teachers executive director, Jacquelyn Jackson.